Mark of Gabriel
by Marion Hood
Summary: Hermione Granger is looking for revenge in world which desperately needs a trickster. Gabriel is an Archangel going through the Apocalypse, who really needs a friend. Collaboration Fic with Starkidlover100. On Hiatus. Apologies
1. Chapter 1

**_This fanfic is a collaboration between Starkidlover100 and Marion Hood. We don't, unfortunately, own anything. If we did you'd be the first to know._**

* * *

"Oh come on." Gabriel glared darkly at the bright flames keeping him trapped. "Not again." He glared critically at the woman. "Well at least you're cuter than those last bozos who trapped me."

She smiled at him nervously, one hand clenching and unclenching.

"Er...hello?" The English accent peaked his interest and he moved as close as the flame would allow. "I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger."

"Gabriel. Archangel." He snapped.

She blanched and dropped the stick she was holding.

"What?" she gasped.

"Did I stutter?" He snipped, glancing around the room. It had been a while since he'd seen a dedicated summoning chamber. This was...strange. Archaic even.

"No, no, no, no. This is all wrong." Hermione paced the circle and ran her hands through her long curly hair, charging it with static. "I was trying to get the spirit of retribution." She paused and stared at him in amazement. "Archangel?"

He gave her a mocking salute.

"But Angels don't exist." She said with the certainty of a born skeptic.

That set off his already volatile temper enough to spark his grace, his six wings silhouetting on the wall behind him. Hermione jumped back in fright, stumbling over that small piece of vine wood. He left the largest of his golden wings in the visible spectrum and glared at her.

"Okay...Angels." She breathed out slowly, evidently trying to calm herself. Gratifying to know _someone _found him intimidating. For the first time since she'd summoned him, she seemed to really look at him, a small frown appearing between two deep brown eyes. She held out her hand and the stick jumped back into it. Hermione twirled it between her fingers, distractedly tapping her foot. "Can I make this a bit more comfortable for you?" She flicked that stick and a large armchair appeared behind him.

"How did you do that?" He demanded, nudging the chair with his foot. Definitely corporeal.

"I'm a witch." She said, as though admitting that to an Archangel _wasn't_ a bad idea.

Gabriel looked at her aura, which aside from a lot of emotional scarring, some battle trauma and a healthy dose of guilt, was perfectly clear.

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"Not."

"Am."

"Not. You ain't got my brothers mark, and believe me sweet cheeks, I'd recognise it."

He got a glare for the nickname but she was quickly distracted, eyes straying back to his wings.

"Mark?" She frowned again. "Brother?...ah...You mean Lucifer. Well I suppose if you're real then he must be and by extension demons, hell and heaven which presents an interesting theological discussion..."

She drifted off into distracted muttering, tucking her stick behind her ear. He watched as she paced around the circle, almost seeming to forget him. That got on his nerves. He was an attention whore, sue him. He's Gabriel!

"How come you knew about the Holy fire?"

She glanced up at him.

"Holy fire?"

"Only thing that can hold someone like me." He gave into temptation and sprawled in the sinfully squishy armchair. "You know...hot, burny...holy?"

She frowned.

"The summoning circle automatically adapts to whatever circumstances were necessary." She flicked her stick and the flames died, leaving a simple chalk outline. "I'm sorry about this mix-up and for wasting your time. I need to look over the ritual."

Gabriel stayed in his chair.

"Show me." He commanded.

His tone earned him a raised eyebrow, but she produced a sheet of parchment-which earned an eye roll from Gabriel-and handed it to him.

"Did you write this with a quill, gorgeous?" Her cheeks pinkened slightly but she didn't reply. "Gryffin feather, virgin blood...Why were you trying to summon Loki?" He snapped a lollipop into existence and unwrapped it. "Seriously...you don't really look the type."

She sighed, looking slightly ashamed.

"I wanted revenge and he seemed like the best bet at the time..." She shrugged. "Obviously it seems a bit silly now."

He smirked around the lollipop stick.

"Revenge? Oooh. Tell Gabriel all." He singsonged.

"You don't want to know." She said, heading for the door.

"Believe me, just deserts are right up my street." He glared at her until she slumped in defeat. "Spill."

"It was the end of the war and people were getting together settling down." She shrugged, talking as quickly as possible. "Everyone seemed to expect Ron and I to end up together. We'd been best friends for years...everyone always said they could see this spark between us. So we started dating almost two years after the war. It wasn't anything serious, just casual dates. We'd both entered the DMLE and I wanted to focus on my career. Ron knows I've always been driven by my work and I assumed he understood that." She smiled bitterly. "It was nice at first. We'd go out at the weekends...but then about six months into our relationship he started to pressure me to sleep with him." She snorted. "He wasn't subtle either. I refused and I assumed that was the end of it. I guess he thought it was a muggle thing." Hermione frowned.

"That was...almost six years ago now?" She shrugged. "A few years after that, he and his mother started dropping subtle hints about getting us married. Again I refused. Only a fool gets married in her twenties. I had better things to be doing than playing house. Getting married meant giving up my job and I...just wasn't ready to do that. We broke up over that, stayed apart for almost a whole year before we got back together. A couple of months after that Ron stopped hinting and started telling. We got into an argument. I said some horrible things, he said some...worse things." She swallowed. "I stormed out. Went back to my flat. Of course as soon as I calmed down, I realised that this was my fault. I went back to his to apologise and I found him with Lavender Brown in his bed." She chocked on a sob. "I mean of all the...I yelled at him and..." She coughed, blushing slightly. "I broke his nose. I went back to my flat and went in to work the next morning. And there's Ronald, standing in the middle of the Atrium. I thought he wanted to apologise, except he began yelling accusations. Claimed I'd cheated on him...that it'd broken his heart when I refused his proposal. And _then_..." She took a deep breath to steady herself, but Gabriel could see white knuckled grip she had on her stick. This wasn't pain. This was _fury._ "In retaliation he got the one woman who hates me more than anything in the world, to write an article. She called me a harlot and a glory hound. The story spread like wildfire and no one would believe me. Ronald made his family cut all ties with me, Harry broke up with his girlfriend over it...and now my names being dragged through the mud, I'm getting hate mail, I even got a disciplinary wage cut for behavior not befitting a ministry employee and a demotion." She slumped miserably against the wall, looking utterly dejected. "All because of Ronald bloody Weasley."

Gabriel stared at her.

"Wow. That's...seriously...douchy. I mean that's coming from me. No wonder you wanted revenge."

He got to his feet and held out a hand to her.

"Is there anyone who can help you with this?" He asked, pulling her to her feet. It was nice to find a woman who was smaller than him.

Hermione made an expansive sweeping gesture, leaving a trail of sparks behind her fingers.

"Harry took my side, but apart from the twins...no. Not really."

"Twins, huh. Kinky." Gabriel snapped his fingers and passed her the cardboard box that he'd snapped into existence. "You look like you need this. Let it never be said I'm not a nice guy."

She smiled at him.

"Thank you. For listening." She hugged the box to her chest and stepped away from him. "I'll leave you be now."

She turned and began to ascend the wooden steps which led out of the pit. Gabriel watched her go, his head cocked to one side.

"One tiny thing..." he called, unable to stop himself. "That virgin blood...?"

Her pink cheeks told him all he needed to know.

* * *

**WAR HERO DISCRACED!**

**Ex-Auror Ronald Weasley was forcibly removed from the ministry this morning for disturbing behaviour on Ministry premises. According to witnesses Mr Weasley tore through the Atrium shedding his clothes before attempting to self-fornicate in the Fountain of Magical Brethren. Evidently the recent betrayal by harlot Hermione Granger was too much for him to bare.**

**Mr Weasley was reported have been heard to say;**

**"The angel made me do it!"**

**We have been informed that this discretion cost Mr Weasley his job and he was referred by Head Auror Potter for psychiatric assessment at St Mungo's.**

* * *

Hermione tipped her head back and laughed. And then kept laughing as two months worth of guilt, shame, anger and misery melted away. She cuddled Loki to her chest, giggling as the Golden Retriever pup licked at her chin. He was the best companion a witch could ask for. There was only one person who could have done this though. Even Fred and George would have baulked at losing Ron his job.

"Thank you, Gabriel." She whispered.

* * *

_**A/N**_

**_Please drop us a review and let us know what you thought.  
_**

**_The next chapter should be up soon. _**

**_For the first time,_**

**_Hood and Nix Out._**


	2. Chapter 2

"So I was passing through and I thought I'd drop in on my favorite worker drone."

Hermione screamed, dropping the files she'd been holding and brandishing her wand.

"Protego!"

Gabriel hopped off her desk and stared down at the witch hiding behind what looked like a forcefield. He snapped his fingers and the lights came on, banishing the shadows that had been hiding him.

"You all right?" He asked, mildly concerned.

She breathed out slowly and nodded, banishing the shield. Another wave of her wand and the files zoomed into a neat pile on her desk.

"Gabriel." She greeted, still catching her breath. He could hear her heartbeat, thundering loud in his ears.

"Sweetheart."

She rolled her eyes and headed for the pen in the corner of the room. The puppy gave out excited yips and raced around her ankles as she let it out. Hermione grabbed a box sitting on a filing cabinet and wandered back over to him, dodging the puppy as she did so.

"This is for you." She smiled at him. "To say thank you."

"You got me a box? Well that's definitely...new."

She rolled her eyes.

"I bought you sweets. You seemed to fond of them." She yawned, rubbing at her eyes. "They're trick sweets. The twins make them and I thought you'd appreciate them. Thank you for helping in my petty revenge plot."

"Ya said that already, Mimi. Don't tell me you feel guilty?"

"Of course I feel guilty. I was not innocent in the whole ordeal. I led him on for years."

Gabriel snorted in disgust.

"You really are a goody two shoes aren't you?"

Hermione scowled at him in irritation and pushed her hair away from her face, tucking the curls behind her ear. Large purple bruises crossed the side cheek, covered in a strange gold glitter. He frowned, looking her over. She was holding herself stiffly as though she'd been hurt.

"What happened?" He demanded, wings flaring behind them.

She flinched at his tone and shrugged.

"I am not a popular woman, Mr Gabriel. I have enemies."

He traced the edge of the bruise with one finger, frowning.

"What happened?" he growled. The puppy whimpered, picking up on his anger and slunk under the desk.

"I was attacked. On my way home from work. It was my own fault, I should have known better than to walk." She looked despondent but attempted a smile anyway. "Price of not fitting in, I suppose."

"How often does this happen to you?"

"The attacks?" She thought about it, crouching down to scratch the dog's ears. "Every couple of months, I suppose. Harry usually catches up to them in the end."

"And Fido?" Gabriel asked, glaring at the puppy as though it was personally to blame.

"He was in my bag. Just as well really. He's too small to do much damage at the moment." She paused. "I have to ask though, why did you give me a puppy?"

He winked at her.

"You can never have enough puppies." His smile vanished and he looked unnaturally serious. "Gimmie the dog a second."

Curious Hermione passed the puppy over. Gabriel held him up to eye level with one hand, golden eyes staring into brown. He touched his fingers to the dog's brow causing it to glow briefly.

"There."

"What did you do to him?" She asked suspiciously, hugging the dog to her.

"I fixed him. Now..." Gabriel stared down at her. "Why haven't you got those healed?"

"The bruises? I don't want to go to the Hospital. People will talk and they'll know they managed to hurt me." She sighed, rubbing at her forehead. "Healing spells have never been my specialty and they're not something you want to mess around with. I'm wearing a glamour, so no one can see them." She shrugged. "It's just one of those things."

So that's what that strange shimmering was.

"Hmm. Don't curse me, kay?" Gabriel ducked down and kissed her, using the contact to push enough grace into her to heal her wounds. Hermione just stood there and he got the impression she was frowning.

"Well hey! Rain on a man's ego why don't you?" He whined, drawing back. The puppy, who'd been crushed between them, licked his face.

She touched her face gently, frowning.

"Thank you." she murmured, relaxing her stiff stance somewhat. "But was the kissing really necessary?"

He smirked.

"See ya!" And vanished.

* * *

In reflection he probably should have asked. Humans were tricky about things like privacy and back stories. But Archangels are demanding creatures by nature and it was far easier to manipulate the timelines and see what she'd been up to than it was to actually ask her.

Fairly normal childhood, good family, serious lack of friends...nothing the stuck out majorly. Until a woman in a pointed had turned up on her doorstep.

He watched as she boarded her train in her first year, dotting in and out of her time stream. He stared in horror as she was attacked again and again. No wonder she was so used to it. How the hell did she even find a basilisk? Or a werewolf? Or a fanatical cult of supremacists?

It took ever bit of self control he had not to step in as she was tortured. What was this girl that she fought wars and saved nations? She was a hero, like those moronic Winchesters and yet she was reduced to getting revenge on ex-boyfriends and being attacked in the street?

There was one thing he noticed though. Throughout all her adventures there was this spark in her eyes. And it wasn't there any more. It was as though the world had worn her down enough to douse the fire inside of her.

Gabriel frowned as something else caught his attention. Someone was summoning him.

Well this couldn't be good.

* * *

"GABRIEL!"

Had he the energy, he'd have made some joke about her screaming his name, but the unfortunate truth was...he didn't. Circumventing his angel blade like that and creating a convincing enough fake corpse had drained him. He didn't have enough mojo to heal his vessel, barely enough to fly. He hadn't so much as landed in her office, as crashed. He dimly registered the smell of burnt carpet.

"Now might be a good time to brush up on your healing." He gasped out.

The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Hermione summoning her wand.

* * *

"Hello."

Gabriel cracked open one eye and stared at her.

"Ah."

"Mmm." Hermione perched on the foot of her bed. "Turns out that angels heal just the same as humans do." She shrugged delicately. "I wouldn't try to get up though." She pointed out as he attempted to move. "Someone did stab you in the chest."

"No kidding." He groused.

She smirked.

"Be nice and I'll give you sugar."

Gabriel considered her through half closed eyes.

"What sort of sugar?"

"Magical sugar." She smiled, summoning a lollipop from her bedside table. She unwrapped it and held it teasingly out of his reach. "Now, will you be okay?"

Gabriel took the question seriously and nodded, propping himself up on his elbows.

"I just need to lay low for a few days. I should have enough energy in a few hours to fly and bust out of this coop."

She handed him the sweet.

"Everlasting lollipop." She wrinkled her nose. "Actually that's a bit of a mis-sell. It'll last for about a week before it begins to decrease in size. The flavour changes constantly though." She got to her feet. "I need to get to work. Please don't be here when I get back."

Gabriel waited until she was almost at the door before he called after her.

"Thanks, by the way."

She paused.

"I owed you one."

* * *

When Hermione got home again her walls were a hot pink, her food had all been turned into chocolate and her bed sheets were leopard print silk.

Pranksters. They were all the same.

* * *

"Gabriel stopped by again." She said wearily, considering her sandwich. She picked out the lettuice forlornly.

Harry frowned, the loud buzz of the Ministry refectory rising around them. There was a strong smell of cabbage which was rather robbing Hermione of her appetite.

"Okay...This is the guy who claims he's an Archangel?"

Hermione nodded, charming her lettuce to slither around her plate like a sea monster.

"Yes. He dropped into my office the day before yesterday, bleeding to death." She rubbed at her temple. "I spent last night trying to undo the enchantments he placed on my walls. I'm going to have to repaint before I move."

Harry frowned.

"When's your lease up, again?"

"Next week and Harry, I know what you're going to say!" She glared at him, eyebrows raised.

He scowled at her, exasperated and grabbed her hand.

"Hermione, please. You need somewhere to stay and I need someone to live with."

She avoided his gaze for a moment before she seemed to give in.

"Fine." She whispered.

He let her go, attacking his own sandwich.

"Ginny won't like it." She muttered, rebelliously.

"Ginny is a vindictive, back-stabbing..." Harry descended into dark mutterings which were indecipherable from the background noise.

* * *

"Dean Winchester."

Harry smiled.

"I thought Gabriel was dead." He said without preamble.

"Well hello to you too, you son of a bitch." Dean grumbled. "Yeah he is. Took an angel blade to the chest, from what we can tell."

Harry listened to the sound of Hermione bustling around in the kitchen of Grimauld Place.

"A friend of mine had someone claiming to be Gabriel crash land in their office." He said quietly.

"Could just be someone messing around." Dean said weakly.

"Apparently he was short, blonde..."

"That sneaky son of a bitch!" Dean yelled. Harry held the phone away from his ear.

"HEY SAMMY! GUESS WHOSE NOT DEAD?"

"GABRIEL?" Sam yelled back, hopefully.

"GABRIEL." Dean sighed. "We gotta call Cas. See you next time you're in the states. Thanks for the heads up, by the way."

* * *

"Harry Potter."

"Hey, It's Dean."

"Oh no." Harry groaned, rubbing his forehead with ink stained fingers.

"Yeah, we might have a problem."

Harry groaned.

"What did you do?"

"We were tracking Gabriel and we found someone who was covered in his grace. Only we're starting to think we got the wrong person."

"Describe them."

"Chick, bout my age, curly brown hair."

Harry stared down at the missing persons report he was filling out for Hermione.

"Does she look really angry?" He asked carefully.

"Furious." Dean whispered.

"Damn it, Dean." Harry summoned his great coat and began to jog to the apparition point. "Where are you?"

* * *

Harry kicked open the motel door and burst into the room.

"HERMIONE!"

He untied her, ignoring the startled looks from the three hunters.

"We've been worried sick."

Hermione removed the gag from her mouth and snapped her hand out, summoning her wand from the floor.

"Where am I?" She asked quietly.

"North America." Harry told her warily.

Hermione nodded calmly and then turned to face the hunters.

"Why, exactly, did you feel it was necessary to kidnap me?"

Castiel swallowed, loudly.

"That...tattoo on your back?"

"What? Don't be ridiculous. I don't have a tattoo." She snapped, running a hand through her curls.

"Actually..." Harry said, lifting the back of her shirt, where it had become untucked from her trousers. "You do."

"What?" Hermione stared at him. She turned so she was facing the mirror and twisted so she could see the black horn etched onto her hip, just above her trousers.

"May I?" Castiel asked.

She stared at him for a second and then shrugged.

"At this point you might as well."

Castiel traced the tattoo on her right hip, very careful not to touch it.

"That is the mark of Gabriel." He said breathlessly. "It acts as a warning to other angels that this human is the property of the Archangel Gabriel, messenger of God and should be treated accordingly. That's why I could sense his grace." He stepped backwards until he was pressed against the wall. "I am very sorry, ma'am."

"Seriously?" Dean asked incredulously.

"You don't understand, Dean. All are angels are..." His eyes flicked to Dean for a second. "Possessive. Gabriel doubly so. To my knowledge she is the only human to bear his mark since his creation. To hurt her is suicide. She is not someone I wish to anger."

Hermione stared at him, blinking very fast.

"He branded me?" She hissed, eyes narrowing. "As property?"

Harry winced and stepped away from the irate woman.

"Hermione has a problem with slavery." He muttered to Sam, who just stared at him.

She rounded on Castiel.

"How do I get him here?"

"Pray to him." Dean suggested. "Always works for me and Cas."

Sam muttered something under his breath which caused Harry to snigger whilst Hermione nodded.

"Gabriel, Angel of the Lord, I beg that you hear my call and answer my plea for help."

There was a flap of wings and the Archangel appeared in the corner, looking faintly surprised. Hermione narrowed her eyes and raised her wand.

"Oppugno!" She screeched. Large eagle owls exploded out of the end of her wand and attacked him.

"Wow." Harry breathed as Gabriel vanished behind a cloud of feathers. "I'm glad you couldn't do that in sixth year."

"Don't be daft, Harry." She said primly. "Of course I could. I just didn't want Ronald dead."

Sam and Dean stared at them.

"What the hell are you two?" Dean demanded.

"Wizards." Harry said, cutting across Hermione. He shot her a look and she closed her mouth, looking rather curious.

"Hungry." She said instead.

They stared at her.

"What? These idiots had me tied to a chair for the last twenty hours. I'm starving."

There was a snap, the birds vanished and there, without a hair out of place, was Gabriel. Their motel room began to shake and light bulbs popped in their fixtures.

"You kidnapped her?" he growled.

The boys began to scramble for their weapons, but Harry glanced between Hermione and Gabriel and shouted.

"Grawp!"

Hermione sighed, folded her arms, stepped in front of Gabriel and glared.

He faltered. It was probably due to surprise more than anything else. She suspected that she was the first person to actually glare at an Archangel. Still Hermione's glare had seen off multiple unwanted suitors, several ministry drones, the Weasley twins and one Death eater.

"They didn't hurt me." She pointed out quietly.  
He raised an eyebrow and grabbed her hand, lifting it so she could see the red welts where she'd tried to get free from her restraints. She winced.

"They didn't mean to."

Hermione was grateful Harry couldn't see the large wings which wrapped around her.

* * *

"Why did you kidnap me?" Gabriel growled slightly from the corner, which earned him an irritated glare, before Hermione turned her attention back to Sam. Harry was in the other corner convincing Dean not to kill them and Castiel was hovering nervously.

Sam winced.

"We were looking for Gabriel. Since you've got his mark on you Cas..."

"The angel of there?" She asked, pointing.

"How did you...?"

Hermione gestured impatiently. "I can see his wings."

"Huh. Anyway Cas mistook you for him and dragged you here. Sorry, again."

Harry laughed as he joined them, Dean following looking wary.

"It's not the first time." He murmured, looking sad. "I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner, Mione. We only noticed you were gone when one of your department realised your dog was still in his pen."

Hermione's eyes went wide.

"Loki? Is he okay?"

They stared at her.

"You named your dog, Loki?" Sam choked out. Gabriel looked strangely pink.

"Yes." She frowned. "Is that a problem?"

"Er...no. No. Not at all."

There was a snapping noise and a very excited Golden Retriever appeared in front of her.

"Loki!" Hermione cried delightedly.

The dog, now over three feet tall bounded into her, knocking her to the floor and proceeded to lick her face.

Gabriel sighed.

"You're supposed to protect her, ya dumb mutt. Not bruise her."

"Gabriel..." Castiel said, frowning. "What did you do to that canine?"

Gabriel smirked.

"I improved him."

Hermione got to her feet, scowling.

"He's tripled in size in three days. Was it really necessary?"

Gabriel just smirked and Hermione yawned, wrapping one hand around her dog's collar.

"As wonderful as it has been, meeting, being kidnapped by you and being yelled at by, yes once again, you. I have work in...five minutes." She groaned. "Did you bring a return Portkey?" She asked Harry.

He winced.

"I was more focused on the whole saving you thing..."

She sighed.

"And this is why we became friends in the first place. Heroes, never do their prep work." She rolled her eyes before her expression shifted to dejection. "I'm going to lose my job." She moaned.

"Can't you miss one day?" Dean asked.

Harry scowled, green eyes flashing.

"I could. She can't. Her boss has it in for her."

Hermione shrugged as though she was used to it.

"Is there anyone who doesn't hate you?" Gabriel asked, only slightly kidding.

Sam, Dean, Harry and Castiel all raised their hands. Hermione beamed at them.

Gabriel rolled his eyes and reached forward, resting one finger on her head.

"Laters!"

* * *

**_A/N_**

**_Let us know what your thinking and if you picked up on the subtext. :)_**

**_Thank you so much for your support so far and GOOD LUCK for tonight._**

**_We've got finale blues._**

**_Hood and Nox Out_**


	3. Chapter 3

Gabriel grinned as they appeared in her office.

"Right on time."

Hermione just sighed, watching Loki snuffle around her office.

"Thanks." She murmured. She stretched and surveyed her office with something akin to dread. "I need to get to work."

He frowned at her.

"Do you _ever_ do anything else?"

She shrugged listlessly, already buried in a file.

"I work... I invent...I write."

"You invent?" He asked skeptically, trying to fit that information in with what he already knew about her.

She nodded.

"I do freelance work for a joke shop I have shares in." She glanced up and seemed confused to find him still occupying space in her office. "Why are you still here?"

He shrugged, leaning against a cabinet.

"You're fun."

She narrowed her eyes, one hand tapping an uneven rhythm on her desk.

"No. I'm not. I'm tired, I'm hungry, I've got a day's work to catch up on. Which is all your fault, I might add. Because you decided to stick your bloody _Property of Gabriel _sticker on me, _I_ got kidnapped."

The humour dropped off his face and was replaced with an unnerving seriousness.

"That mark is for your own good." He snapped. "It'll keep you safe."

Hermione snorted, her hair frizzing up in her fury.

"Safe? From what? Angels, demons...they're the only ones who know what it is. It won't keep regular humans away. No. I would've been safer if you'd left me alone." She calmed slightly, although her hair was still sparking. "Thank you for dealing with Ron. I appreciate it, I really do. But I think we're even now and I think you should leave me alone."

Gabriel looked petulant and Hermione finally lost it.

"GO before I decide to find out which one of us is more powerful."

He snarled and vanished, leaving Hermione to collapse into her chair, rubbing at her forehead.

* * *

"So how did you know Sam and Dean?"

Harry closed both eyes and pretended he couldn't see her. Hermione waited him out. They had been friends a very long time, after all, and she knew exactly how stubborn he was.

"I was on a case...It was that murderer, the one who went after the little girls?"

Hermione remembered the case vividly. Even Wizards have their psychopaths and Gerald Gibson had been one of them. He'd murdered six young witches before Harry finally caught up with him. He'd skipped the border and had been living in muggle America, worryingly close to a school. Hermione had helped put the prosecution together and he'd been sentenced to Azkaban.

"I met them then. Told them I was a hunter just like them, they seemed nice enough. I help them out whenever I happen to be in America."

"Of course you do." Hermione sagged in her armchair and stared at him.

"Gabriel bothered you recently?" Harry asked. He'd been remarkably alarmed that an Archangel had taken an interest in his friend. Hermione supposed they had to be grateful. From what Harry had told her, out of the four of them, she'd gotten rather lucky. If you were looking for a silver lining, of course and she, personally, wasn't.

Hermione snorted.

"No. I told him to leave and he did. This..." She gestured at her hip. "Flares up occasionally. I went to see one of the Unspeakables who specialise in Occulemency...She suspected that it's a low level emotive connection which is unfortunately unbreakable."

Harry blinked at her.

"I can feel his emotions and there is nothing I can do about it." She stated flatly.

"Oh...well, that's...wonderful."

Hermione shrugged. Loki rolled over so he was lying on his back, displaying his belly and simultaneously crushing her toes.

* * *

"Harry Potterrrrrrrrrrrr..."

Dean frowned, staring at his phone.

"Dude, wake up."

"Piss off, you wanker." Harry grumbled, but he sounded more awake.

"Listen, I need your help."

"You kidnapped my best friend." He said incredulously. "I think you're out of favours."

Dean grimaced, somewhat embarrassed about the whole incident.

"First, it was an accident and second, this isn't for me. A friend of ours has gotten kidnapped by demons. We could kind of use any help we can get."

There was a pause and then Dean distinctly heard a girl's voice.

"Who is it, Harry?"

"Please tell me you're not sleeping with Hermione?" Dean begged, unwilling to bring the wrath of a possessive Archangel down on one of his few friends.

"What? Ew! No. She's just here. It's Dean." Harry added for her benefit.

There was a disgusted snort.

"Yeah. I know. He says someone's been kidnapped. Needs help." Harry paused. "How dangerous is it?" He asked Dean, sounding rather grumpy.

"Er...pretty dangerous."

Harry sighed and relayed the information.

"I'm a grown man, Hermione."

"Yes and what happened the last time I let you go off on your own? You died."

Dean scowled, not used to being ignored.

"I came back!" Harry yelped. "All right fine. Dean, where are you?"

Dean relayed the address and heard the reverberations that meant he was on speaker.

"Can you get there?" Harry asked.

"Of course I can." Hermione said. "I can even get us back."

"You stand a person on the wrong side of the Atlantic once..." Harry seemed to remember Dean was still listening. "We'll be there in five minutes, Dean."

"Wait...we?"

All Dean got as a response was a loud dial tone.

Castiel and Sam watched him hopefully.

"They're coming to help."

"They?" Sam asked cautiously.

Dean shrugged incredulously.

* * *

Five minutes later Harry and Hermione arrived, knocking loudly on the motel room door. Dean stepped aside, letting them in. Both were dressed in dark clothing with leather greatcoats, embossed with a double M on the breast, draped over the top.

"What's she doing here?" Dean demanded.

Hermione saw Sam wince and smiled at Harry to explain, ducking past the hunter as she did so.

"She wouldn't let me..."

"March into danger unaided again." She provided helpfully, when he faltered.

Harry grimaced.

"Thanks. So she's here to help."

Dean turned to her.

"You any good in a fight?"

"Yes." She stated and left it at that. Dean's face became an interesting shade of pink but Harry sighed and jumped in before he could open his mouth.

"Before Hermione was demoted she was one of the senior hit wizards in the Auror Corps. Of course she mainly did the law side of things but..."

"I had to get my hands dirty occasionally." Hermione finished for him. "I thought we were supposed to be rescuing someone."

Sam sighed.

"We are. Our friend Jo. The demons took her thinking we'd go charging in after her."

Hermione nodded, with the wariness that comes from being friends with in the intolerably stupid and brave.

"Okay. And what's our actual plan?"

Dean cocked his shotgun.

"Charge in there after her."

Hermione sighed.

"Wonderful."

* * *

"Me and 'Mione will go around the back." Harry said, and they vanished soundlessly.

"Will stunning spells work?" Hermione asked under her breath. She hadn't wanted to admit it in front of the Winchesters but she had no idea what she was up against.

Harry nodded.

"Silent if possible. The boys will go in guns blazing and we can sneak around the back. Hopefully we'll get there in time."

Hermione unlocked the door wandlessly and they stepped into the dark building. It was everything you'd expect a lair of demons to look like. It was abandoned, spray painted, littered with leaking pipes, dirt and...oh yes, there were some hanging chains for no reason that Hermione could see other that aesthetic.

Harry stunned the first two demons and they slumped to the ground in a heap, the demons trapped in their unconscious vessels. There was a loud retort in the distance and they picked up the pace, moving stealthily through the corridors, ducking around corners. Jo was being held in the main room, with four demons posted outside each entrance. Harry and Hermione paused just beyond that corridor and Harry handed her a lump of glittering black rock.

"Remember this?" He asked, grinning.

It wasn't the time, nor the place for nostalgia, but Hermione couldn't help smiling.

"Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder." She whispered, holding the rock gently in one hand. "We use this, we won't be able to see they either."

"Except, we already know where they are." Harry leaped into the corridor and launched the rock at the demons. The smoke spread instantly, obscuring their vision, but the time it took to reach the end of the corridor was enough for Harry and Hermione to discharge their spells. The four demons collapsed and Harry carefully siphoned the smoke away with his wand.

"What?" He grinned. "Didn't you think I'd remember the counter charm?"

"I had my doubts." Hermione murmured.

They marched carefully towards the door, and rightfully so, because as they drew near the door burst open and suddenly there were three demons, too close to stun. The first knocked Harry to the floor with a punch that split his lip open. Hermione managed to get the second with a bond-breaker jinx, but the third smacked her across the head with the butt of his rifle. Her head swimming, she managed to remain conscious, but only barely. She managed to fire off a weak stunning spell, which seemed to do the trick, but by the time she'd regained enough of her senses to turn to Harry, he'd been pinned to the floor. The monster raised the knife it was holding, ready to plunge into Harry's chest and...it's head exploded.

Harry shoved the bloody carcass off him and they both stared up at the blonde holding the gun.

"Jo?" Hermione guessed, using the wall as a support to get herself up on her feet. She felt the lump on her head with a wince and tried to shake off the last of the fuzziness.

"Yeah." She reloaded the shotgun, cocking it. She was of average height, with blond hair, currently matted with blood. Her face was bruised, but her hands didn't falter in handling her weapon. "Who're you?"

"I'm Hermione, that's Harry. We're friends of Sam and Dean. Here to rescue you." Hermione grinned fleetingly. "Not that you seem to need it. On your feet, Potter!"

Harry scrambled up, snatching his wand as he did so.

He didn't stop staring at the hunter.

"Is he okay?" Jo asked warily, lowing her gun slightly.

Hermione shrugged, reaching for their wrists.

"We really don't have time for that debate." She turned on her heel and apparated them outside. Jo stumbling tot he ground.

"Harry, I need you to get Sam and Dean out of there..."

"What the hell are you?" Jo yelled.

Hermione turned back to her and froze when she saw the muzzle of Jo's gun pointing at her midsection.

"Jo..." Harry pleaded, stepping in front of her. "Please don't shoot my best friend. We're here to help you. We're wizards." He grinned at the blonds startled expression. "Not minions of the Devil. Promise. Now can you put that gun down so I can ask you something?"

Jo lowered the gun, but didn't unload it. Smart girl, Hermione mused, scanning the building for any signs of the hunters. Harry smiled besottedly and got down so he was kneeling on the ground in front of her.

"Will you marry me?" He asked hopefully.

Jo's blue eyes met Hermione's irritated gaze over the top of his head.

"Is he serious?"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Unfortunately. I'm going to get the boys."

Hermione vanished just as Jo yelled.

"NO!"

* * *

The floors were streaked with blood, most of it belonging to the various demon corpses. Sam and Dean were in the middle of the fighting, Castiel burning demon after demon with his grace.

"We got her." She yelled.

Dean nodded and Hermione was just moving to help them when a sharp retort sounded behind them. She staggered slightly, before she turned to fire off a spell at the demon behind her. It took another two minuets before Dean almost beheaded the last demon and Hermione could feel her strength draining. Her movements had gained a sluggish quality that she didn't like and her left arm completely refused to cooperate.

She limped towards Sam, who caught her as she fell against him.

"Hermione, you okay?"

"Probably not..." Hermione winced, leaning heavily against him. "The coat stops me feeling pain so I'm not sure." The coats weren't perhaps the best idea. But in a fire fight where pain meant the difference between winning and losing, they did the trick.

Sam clenched his jaw and scooped her up in his arms, running with Dean and Castiel until they were outside. Harry was still on his knees pleading with an incredulous Jo, who had her shotgun aimed at his temple.

"Dean!" She said with enough relief that Harry scowled. "Please make him stop."

Harry got to his feet staring at Hermione.

"'Mione, you okay?"

Sam stood Hermione on her feet and she swayed gently.

"Coat..." She mumbled, meeting Harry's worried gaze. "Get it off me."

Harry nodded grimly and asked the Winchester's to hold her arms, so she wouldn't fall.

"Clench your teeth." Harry rested his wand on her shoulder. "Three..two..._Divestus_!"

Hermione shrieked in agony as the pain ripped through her. Her shoulder and her hip burned and it was almost too much. She collapsed against Sam but somehow managed to keep consciousness. Harry already pressing his hand against her shoulder, siphoning away the blood.

"You bastard." She whimpered, "Heal it!"

Harry winced, putting more pressure on the bullet hole.

"I can't. This is beyond me."

"But not me." Gabriel shoved Harry aside, scooping Hermione into his arms. "I'll bring her back." He promised and vanished.

* * *

**_Thank to all our reviewers._**

**_Unfortunately, through a combination of bad scheduling, no internet, accidents...writing's been difficult. We're still waiting for Nox to get back on her feet (Or hands as the case may be) so this chapters come from me. _**

**_Let me know what you think. _**

**_Also, in case you're wondering, I'm back from exile and the sequel to Hermione's Angel, which will be a multi-chapter story, will be up this week. Should hopefully be a fast uploader too. _**

**_Nice to be back,_**

**_Hood (and Nox in spirit)_**


	4. Chapter 4

Hi,

The first thing I have to tell you is that this isn't an update and that this story is officially going unfinished.

As some of you will be aware, Nox was very unwell, it was in the authors note of the last chapter. Those of you who follow me on Tumblr or read The Family Business might be aware that Sabrina (Nox) died last Autumn, which was when I officially put this story on hiatus. Mark of Gabriel was Sabrina's baby, and she in fact approached me with the whole idea of doing a story together, which I instantly liked.

However, she was also the driving force behind this story and without her I don't see myself finishing it. I don't know what direction she would have wanted this story to take and I don't feel that I can finish this without her input. I think this story deserves better than my individual mark, which would take it a remarkably different direction than what she probably would have wanted.

So I'd like to apologise, not only to those of you who thought this was an update and were looking forward to the story coming off hiatus, but also to Sabrina, because I'm leaving something she enjoyed writing, unfinished. I'll be leaving the story up because her work deserves to be left where others can see it.

On a slightly more positive note, I have my own Hermione/Gabriel story in the works. It won't be up for a while, because it'll be quite long, with a variety of characters in it. It will not be a reworking of Mark of Gabriel.

Thank you for your time,

Hood.


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